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Friars On to BET Semis

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The Friars just keep answering questions.

Can they win any game under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, nevermind a must-win against a St. John’s team that had won 10 of 13 entering Thursday afternoon?

What happens if Bryce Cotton isn’t Superman? If he gets hurt? In foul trouble?

How do they react if things start to fall apart late?

Ed Cooley’s Friars answered those questions, and more, in running out to a 17 point second half advantage, seeing that lead trimmed to just one with a little over a minute to play, then eventually closing out St. John’s (and their NCAA Tournament hopes) with a 79-74 win in the Big East Tournament quarterfinal.

Popular perceptions that were once givens around Providence are proving to be misconceptions.

There were those who couldn’t imagine how the Friars defeated St. John’s the first time around after the Red Storm came into the Dunkin Donuts Center and dropped PC in early February.

Josh Fortune was supposed to be in over his head in this conference — at least at this point in his career.

Some pitied Cotton for not having a better core around him while he was having such a special senior season.

And after the team lost three in a row, and seemingly half of their roster in early January, the notion that Providence would have 21 wins come March 13, with a very real chance to make the Big East Championship game on Saturday night, would have gotten PC loyalists laughed out of any bar in the Ocean State.

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It’s a team that just won’t go away. The Friars were on the ropes against Marquette just nine days ago, and clinging to them as the season looked to be unraveling in New York City.

Providence survived the final minute in typical PC fashion, but how they got there was anything but conventional for this group.

The top free throw shooting team in the country made 10-10 at the line in the final 31 seconds, with six coming from Bryce Cotton, but it was Cotton’s teammates who positioned the Friars for the victory on a night in which Cotton made just one field goal and battled both foul and injury issues.

The catalysts were Josh Fortune and LaDontae Henton. Fortune for scoring a career high 24 points, including 10 straight during a 10-2 Friar run that made it 50-37 PC with roughly 14 minutes remaining, and Henton (16 points, 11 rebounds, 7-16 shooting) for bullying the Johnnies much in the same way that Providence’s opponents have pushed them around in MSG of late.

“I think Josh is a big reason why we’ve grown the last five or six games. He doesn’t shoot the ball enough for me. When you look at the success we’ve had the last couple of weeks, he’s a big reason for it because everybody can’t have their attention on the other guys,” Cooley shared afterward.

Kadeem Batts nearly had a double double in the first half (9 points, 9 rebounds through 20 minutes) before finishing with 13/12. The senior also knocked down a monster jump shot with 2:14 left to push PC’s lead to five, 69-64.

Batts’ late jumper came on an assist from Tyler Harris who played with an aggression not seen this season. The 6’9 sophomore attacked the glass and finished with 10 rebounds (six offensive) despite playing just 27 minutes due to foul troubles of his own.

Then there was Carson Desrosiers who once again controlled the paint defensively, with four blocks and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes. As St. John’s struggled to score from the perimeter they took their game inside, only to find Desrosiers awaiting them. While the Johnnies’ Chris Obekpa, a one-time PC recruit who spurned the Friars the same year Desrosiers transferred to them, was a non-factor throughout. Few would have guessed that Desrosiers, not Obekpa would lead the Big East in blocked shots in conference games this season.

Few, if any, would have dreamed that Providence could win this game on a night in which Cotton made just 1-10 shots, but this team keeps finding ways to extend their season.

And with a win Friday night against Seton Hall in the Big East semifinals (their first time there in 17 seasons), that season would continue rolling all the way to the conference championship and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 seasons.

 

Email Kevin at kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

Twitter: Kevin_Farrahar

 

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